Return for Postpartum Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Following Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence and characteristics of women who received a postpartum oral glucose tolerance test and to examine barriers as reported by women who failed to return for the test. Data were collected using a mobile phone-based short messaging service. Only 352 (81.9%) women returned for the test. Women who failed to return for the test were younger (30.1 vs 32.1, P = .003) and did not have a previous history of gestational diabetes (93.6% vs 84.9%, P = .043) compared to women who returned for the test. The commonest reasons given for not returning for the test was Still waiting for the appointment date for the test (37.2%), had family/health problems (11.5%), and busy/no time (10.3%). Flexible time for the test, active involvement from health care staff, and strengthening continuous care system were among the interventions needed to improve the return rate for this screening test.